Glitch puts off effort to detect lead in toys

Sunday

Feb 24, 2008 at 12:01 AM

A lead-screening clinic for toys at the Columbia Public Library was canceled yesterday because of a machine malfunction.

Bryan Podkul, project manager at St. Louis-based ATC Associates, the company conducting the screening, said engineers tried to start the $40,000 machine and found it wasn't working. The machine, which resembles a radar gun, is rented out to companies around the country and might have been dropped somewhere along the way, he said.

"Unfortunately, we just can't go to Wal-Mart and pick up another one," Podkul said.

The event, sponsored by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, was to begin at 10 a.m., and consultants waited around to answer questions from the public. The event will likely be rescheduled during the next two weeks.

Cindy Brengarth, a registered nurse for the Columbia/Boone County Health Department, provided educational pamphlets about the hazards of lead. She said her office sees one or two children a year who test positive for exposure to lead.

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